Is Designing for Poetry Like Dancing for Architecture? III Charlie Orr—guest blogger

Today I'm writing about the inimitable Jennifer L.Knox. Jennifer is a poet I've followed for years. Her work is often funny which a rarity in the poetry world. It's a notion that reaffirmed by the blank looks I get every time I tell someone "you should read Jennifer's poetry, it's hilarious". She was featured on my Hypothetical Library blog two weeks ago with an amazingly funny found object approach to book design—take someone else's book scratch out their name and add your own and voila, instant book. You can see the results of How To Cook Everything and its great new introduction here. 

I had the great pleasure of designing the cover of her last two books, and will be doing the next one as well. 

A Gringo Like Me: Bloof Books
[http://www.bloofbooks.com/glm.html]

When you get cover art this great all you can do is try to give it a nice frame (note the rabbit in the lower right hand corner). The artist is Charles Brownings, and you can see more of his outstanding work here. 

Drunk By Noon: Bloof Books 
[http://www.bloofbooks.com/dbn.html]

 

Another Charles Browning painting. It makes me want to shout Yeee Haaawww!! every time I look at it. The book board background was provided by Shanna Compton.

Jennifer will be featured again on The Hypothetical Library in a few weeks with cover artist Elizabeth Zeckel for a young adult book Jr Detective Adventure #19: Perplexed by a Porpoise. And although it's way to soon to talk about, a possible audio series, but you didn't hear that from me.

Tomorrow—Matt Madden 

Comments

[Charles Browning]

My thanks to Mr. Orr for his kind remarks about my paintings - his design has provided them with an excellent context. It has been a great honor to be the "face" of Jennifer's books. The one time I went to a reading of Jen's work I had sore stomach muscles for days. Now I know she likes to punch low.

[Charlie Orr]

Charles,
Whenever I'm at a Knox reading I keep one eye on the stage, one eye on my drink, and one eye on her fists.
Charlie

[Laura Orem]

I love these! They are wonderful!